A fatigued Anna collapsed into bed that night. Her mind was still whirling a million miles an hour. Her heart was beating faster than a drum. All she wanted to do was sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come. Anna had one of the worst days in her life and it kept spiralling.

When Anna had arrived home earlier on in the afternoon, she found a note pushed under her door. A single sheet of cream coloured paper, covered in scratchy handwriting. At first Anna thought it could be as simple as a neighbour informing her about something that was going on in the building, but when she unfolded the paper she knew instantly what it was.

Another threat. Just like the ones James had already received.

Tell him to stay away from you or he will pay the ultimate price.

Anna had never been more terrified. James was a world away. This time she had to face this on her own. Anna began to shake. Her hands trembled and her knees felt weak beneath her. Not trusting her legs to hold her, Anna sunk onto the thick red rug and wrung her hands absentmindedly. She was unable to think clearly. She ran to the phone and dialled Renee’s number. On the third attempt, it connected.

“Renee! Renee!”

“Anna? Is that you?” Ryan asked.

“Where’s…where’s Renee?” Anna barely managed to blurt out.

“She’s out. What’s the matter, Anna? What’s wrong?” Ryan soothed.

“Someone’s been here,” Anna panted frantically down the phone.

“Stay there. I’m on my way,” Ryan directed firmly. He quickly shot a text message to Renee.

Anna was scared. More scared than she ever imagined possible. Someone was after her. And it made her violently ill at the thought that they would hurt James to get at her. Or maybe it was as simple as someone wanting to scare the living daylights out of her. And if that was their aim, then it worked. Anna was terrified. She sat slumped on the rug in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped around her legs, trying to make herself as small as possible. In her left hand she held the phone, while in her right a photo of her and James during happier times.

***

James

James fell into bed late that afternoon suffering a serious case of jetlag. When he eventually surfaced the next morning, his worst nightmare had become reality. James realised he was wrong. He shouldn’t have snapped at Anna. He finally got it. He understood where she was coming from. And with that, came the dizzying realisation that he was being a complete jerk. Unfortunately for James, his morning was only just beginning. As soon as he set foot outside the front door of his hotel, the entire English press was waiting. Overnight, one of the other coaches had made claims that James was using performance enhancing drugs.

This can’t be fucking real, James swore to himself. On top of everything else, he had to face drug allegations as well. Could things get any worse? Side stepping the press, James slipped back inside and started to ring everyone that he would need to help deal with this. Taking the stairs two at a time, Joel burst into James’s room, still wearing his pyjamas. Diana and Michael were standing there before he even picked up the phone and Tim raced through the door, making vain attempts to calm everyone.

Despite all the commotion, all James could think of was how horrible he had been to Anna and how much he wished she were here with him right now. He was trying to get to the phone. Pushing past his parents, James seized it and vanished into the other room.

“What are you doing?” Diana had never really questioned her son, but now with drug allegations floating about, one simple phone call to the wrong person could make everything even worse, if that was at all possible.

“Calling Anna. I need to talk to her,” James pronounced, slamming the door in an attempt to get some privacy. He wasn’t too proud to grovel, but that didn’t mean he wanted witnesses either.

“Come on, pick up the phone, Anna. Pick up,” James begged. The phone continued to ring. Soon enough it rang out. “Damn it, Anna. Where the fuck are you?”

***

Anna

Ryan must have literally flown across town. He was there within half an hour and Anna had never been more grateful. With trembling hands she handed Ryan the letter and explained about the others that had been sent to James. Ryan was mystified and livid at the whole situation. He couldn’t comprehend that there was some sick person out there doing this to them. Ryan kept promising Anna that she was safe. He promised that nothing could harm her, but Anna couldn’t let herself believe it.

Ryan stayed with her most of the night. Despite Anna’s reassurances that she would be fine, Ryan refused to leave.

“I’m okay, promise,” Anna tried.

Shaking his head, Ryan just looked into Anna’s tired eyes and Anna felt it in her stomach. It was like he could see right through her and that terrified Anna more than the thought of a possible stalker. “Anna, give it up, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.”

“But Renee…”

“Renee knows exactly where I am. And don’t fool yourself. You think if I went home now and left you alone I wouldn’t get my butt kicked?”

Anna couldn’t help but smile. Ryan never failed to make her see the bright side and right when she needed it the most, he didn’t fail. “Renee’s not scary.”

“You reckon?”

“Yeah, she’s a softy at heart,” Anna assured him.

“She might be. But her brother isn’t, especially when it comes to you, Princess.” Ryan winked knowingly, sending a swarm of butterflies deep in Anna’s stomach.

Defeated, Anna gave in. She was beyond tired and everything ached. Her feet were red and sore from an entire day of shopping. Stumbling to her feet she ran herself a scalding, vanilla scented bubble bath and poured a glass of red wine. After lighting a few candles and plugging in her iPod she finally let herself relax and forget about everything.

When she emerged an hour later, her hair was sopping wet, her legs were red from the scalding water, and her face had been scrubbed within an inch of its life. She poured more wine and curled up on the lounge. Ryan sat back in the recliner watching Anna like a hawk. His eyes never wavered. Anna noticed the fear in his face, but didn’t call him out on it. There was no point. She’d barely gotten comfortable when a break in the show Ryan had been watching caught Anna’s attention. And then there he was. James had been accused of being a drug cheat. The way the story was being portrayed, they had already declared James guilty. The English press were playing judge, jury, and executioner. She watched on intently as they shamelessly attacked him.

“Can this day get any worse?” a deflated Anna asked Ryan.

“Don’t ask. You never know what’s going to happen next.

“Yes, I do,” Anna corrected him.

Before Ryan knew what to do or say Anna was stuffing clothes into a bag. She was headed to England and no one would stop her. She didn’t even pause to remember the fight that she had with James. That meant nothing now. He was accused of being a cheat and Anna knew the truth. James had always been a crusader against drugs. The idea that some athletes would go to any length to win disgusted him. It completely compromised what the sport was really about. But more than that, Anna knew that James was absolutely terrified of needles. He was petrified of them. So there was no conceivable way that he would or could stick himself with a needle just to help himself win. He didn’t need them. James just worked longer and harder than anyone else, and the rewards just kept coming.

Half an hour after the broadcast, Anna was in a taxi on her way to the airport. Her flight left in an hour. Soon enough she would be in London standing beside him. No matter what happened or what anyone said, they could handle it together. And they would. Anna sighed to herself as she remembered just how manipulative and invasive the English press could be. Two weeks after James had announced their engagement; it made the news in the UK, or at least the trashy UK tabloids. It wasn’t long after they began digging through their lives. It was Anna’s rude introduction to celebrity. The biggest complaint they had was Anna had no dirt to dig up. They made deplorable attempts to talk to her family and friends yet they still came up empty-handed. The only thing they found was Anna had dated the same boy at high school for three years—Grant—and they had a rather messy break up. They even contacted Grant and tried to bribe him into talking. Thankfully he remained silent.